In this photo from Oct. 11, 2015, Minnesota Lynx guard Renee Montgomery holds out her arms in the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals basketball series against the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Intensity is one of the first words that comes to mind when you think about the dynasties built by Connecticut and the Minnesota Lynx. Then you spend time with point guard Renee Montgomery.

Montgomery, who has won championships with both teams, doesn’t seem all that intense.

“She’s goofy,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.

Need a few examples? Montgomery played for the Canberra Capitals in Australia this winter. When asked about the experience, she skipped basketball and went straight to kangaroos and a poisonous spider bite that kept her out of action for more than a week.

“Other than that, it was great,” she said. “Oy, oy, oy.”

When the Lynx trekked to Paisley Park for a private, post-championship concert with Prince last October, Montgomery spent the night dancing on stage next to the late Minnesota music icon.

“I danced the night away,” Montgomery said. “You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t a backup dancer or I wasn’t a part of the band at the time. In my mind I was like, ‘He’s probably going to sign me.’ I thought I was going to be like, ‘Take me on the road with you.’ It was awesome.”

When Reeve tried to recruit Montgomery to re-sign with Minnesota this offseason, the coach lamented how every year the Lynx have attempted to repeat as WNBA champion, the season has aligned with a major international competition — this time the Olympic Games in Rio.

Montgomery immediately started to laugh. Loudly.

“I thought, ‘What the heck was so funny about that?’ ” Reeve said. “And she said, ‘Coach, those are like first world problems.’ ”

Reeve said having characters like Montgomery is good for the locker room. For every ultra-intense player like Maya Moore, you need someone like Montgomery to keep the balance.

“Having both is important,” Reeve said.

Until game time. That’s where Reeve said the Lynx, who acquired Montgomery from Seattle in a midseason trade in 2015, have helped the guard back to her UConn roots.

“When we’re between the lines, that goofiness gets turned off and your attention to detail gets turned up,” Reeve said.

Montgomery appreciates the hard-nosed coaching.

“I like the ‘bad boy’ or, in coach Reeve’s (case), ‘bad girl’ coaches, like with (UConn) coach (Geno) Auriemma, where they unapologetically say what they feel,” Montgomery said. “I don’t like things to be sugar-coated.”

Montgomery said that’s why her two primary options during free agency were Minnesota and the New York Liberty, whose coach is Bill Laimbeer — one of the original “bad boys” from his playing days with the Detroit Pistons — and a former Timberwolves assistant coach.

New York’s deal was sweet, essentially offering Montgomery a starting point guard gig and more money than the Lynx could offer. Yet she still chose a reserve role in Minnesota.

“(The Liberty) basically were handing me everything a player would want, and I still came here,” Montgomery said. “It was tough, but I just like the way that Minnesota handles things. They’re a first-class organization with this (practice) facility, and I just like being here. So I came back.”

Montgomery’s playing time was sporadic down the stretch last season, particularly in the playoffs. But Reeve said Montgomery was always ready to go, as evidenced by the 12 points she scored in the Lynx’s Game 3 win over Indiana in the WNBA finals.

“We don’t get to be WNBA champions without her play for us last season,” Reeve said.

With four Olympians whose minutes figure to be heavily monitored throughout the season, the Lynx figure to rely heavily on Montgomery, who backs up Olympian Lindsay Whalen.

“As a player, you’re always hoping to get as many (minutes) as you can, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want more,” Montgomery said. “But at the end of the day, I know that they want me here, so I’m going to trust the process.”

Jace has covered a slew of sports since he joined the Pioneer Press in May 2015, but his primary duty is covering high schools. Jace enjoys the beat, even though he's been mistaken for a student on multiple occasions.

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